by Ken Knox

The Darjeeling Limited

When three brothers (Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman) decide to take a trip to India together following the death of their father, they begin an adventure that will change their lives in ways they never expected. That’s the gist of Wes Anderson’s most recent study in familial irony. It’s also his best to date. Eschewing the condescending arrogance of 2004’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, while building upon the poignant pathos of 2001’s The Royal Tenenbaums, Anderson fuses the movie with an emotional depth that has been lacking in his previous films and elicits top-notch performances from all three lead actors and Anjelica Huston, their elusive mother. This is one train you’ll want to hop onboard. Extras: A perfunctory “walking tour” featurette that takes viewers behind the scenes of the production, but offers little insight into director Anderson’s vision. Lame. B-

Death at a Funeral

Director Frank Oz (In & Out) again tackles gay subject matter, only this time it’s not in such a positive light. Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) plays an uninvited mourner who shows up at the funeral of a patriarch with a rather eccentric family and reveals a surprising secret about the deceased. You’ve probably guessed the secret, but the film is far from predictable, offering a bellyful of laughs, several twists in an otherwise standard plot and a tour-de-force performance by Alan Tudyk (Serenity), who plays a guest who unknowingly ingests hallucinogens prior to the sad occasion. His riotous turn as a “man on the edge” helps make up for screenwriter Dean Craig’s portrayal of the gay character as a manipulative blackmailer. For shame. Extras: There’s an occasionally insightful commentary from director Oz, another from writer Craig and actors Tudyk and Andy Nyman and amusing gag reel. B

Newhart: The Complete First Season

From the first strains of Henry Mancini’s memorably lovely score at the opening of the pilot episode, “In the Beginning,” we are catapulted back to a time in sitcom history when irony was king and eccentric characters reigned supreme. A sort of precursor to dramedies like Northern Exposure and Men in Trees, Newhart took the concept of the fish-out-of-water heros—in this case, Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as married bed-and-breakfast owners Dick and Joanna Loudon—and created comic gold in the process. Though the first season is a bit shaky in establishing its tone—and the only season shot on the less-desirable video—it is nonetheless a sweet reminder of a more innocent—but no less adult— brand of humor. Extras: Four short featurettes featuring several of the cast members (but unfortunately, not the late Tom Poston) commenting on the making of the show. B